Not applicable.
Not applicable.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a specimen cup for body fluids, such as urine, having a detachable handle and a lid cooperating with the handle to hold the handle in place when not in use.
Physician offices, hospitals and private labs use specimen cups to obtain body fluids such as urine, sputum and stool samples from patients. The patients are usually expected to give biological samples in the privacy of the restroom at the medical facility. The patient must hold the specimen cup while the sample is obtained. The person holding the specimen cup will sometimes soil their hand when collecting the specimen. This is particularly a problem for pregnant or obese patients, children, the elderly and many disabled patients. Soiling of the hand is also a frequent problem when a collection from midstream urine must be obtained.
This invention overcomes this problem to a great extent by providing a detachable handle which holds the specimen cup in an extended position relative to the holdert""s hand and provides a lid for tightly securing the specimen in the cup, particularly when the specimen is obtained at home and carried to the medical facility.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The most pertinent patents are believed to be U.S. Pat. No. Des. 353,669 issued Dec. 20, 1994 and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 357,066 issued Apr. 4, 1995; both issued to Jones, et al. for Combined Specimen Cup And Detachable Handle.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 368,135 issued Mar. 19, 1996 to Vasai for Urine Sample Cup Holder and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 379,655 issued Jun. 3, 1997 to Savignac for Urinary Specimen Collector are believe are good examples of the further state of the crowded art each showing a handle extending laterally from its specimen cup.
The specimen cup comprises an annular wall having a helical thread about its outer upper end periphery for threadedly receiving a lid and includes a flat bottom for holding the specimen within the wall forming the cup. Basically the lid portion comprises a flat top with a depending wall having a helical thread on its inner wall surface cooperating with the thread on the outer surface of the cup open end portion. The lid is further provided with an eccentric upstanding cylindrical prong and an eccentrically positioned lug adjacent the perimeter of the cup top and on a diametric line with respect to the upstanding lug. An elongated handle member having a length at least spanning the diameter of the lid when the handle is horizontally disposed thereon. The handle member is characterized by a flat top surface having a coextensive depending wall portion defining a downwardly open recess when the handle overlies the lid. An apertured boss within the handle recess intermediate its ends frictionally receives the upstanding prong when the handle is diametrically disposed across the lid. The one end of the handle having an aperture cooperatively receiving the upstanding lug thus forming a lever for threadedly tightening or loosening the lid on the specimen cup. The outer wall of the cup adjacent but downwardly spaced from the depending limit of the lid wall is provided with a laterally and upwardly inclined limb which cooperatively receives the aperture in the end of the handle in a fulcrum action on the limb in which the end surface of the handle adjacent the aperture flatly bears against the outer surface of the cup sidewall and permits the user to hold the end of the handle opposite the cup in an extended fashion, safely out of contact with a stream of urine or the like.
The principal object of this invention is to provide an improved specimen cup having a detachable handle which permits a person to gather a specimen without contact with the specimen. A further object being to provide a lid connected handle which forms a lever for tightening or loosening the lid on the specimen cup.